#also it is so hard to find pictures of milo by himself

[thelasthalloween]

POV: You’re Dakota

[biteforblood]

[ SKINCARE HCS #1 ] the shaw pack.

✶ notes : gn!reader, domestic silly fluff, 1.0k

angel + david

i feel like people expect david to not have a skincare routine outside of like splashing water on his face and calling it good. and, like…yeah, he’s done that, but! i think those people are respectfully wong

one, that’s more asher than david. and two, though his routine isn’t as…extensive as milo’s is, david still has somewhat of a process, short and simple as it may be

he’s got face wash that angel helped pick out specifically for his skin; one that won’t irritate or dry his face out, isn’t an uncomfortable texture or feeling, and isn’t too pricey. they also helped him find a light lotion to put on afterwards on the off chance his skin still does kind of dry out because i feel like he has kinda sensitive skin

sometimes, when he’s too tired, he’ll let them apply both the face wash and lotion for him and only grumble a little bit ( if not doze off because his day was so long and their touch is so nice and gentle and— hm? no, he’s awake )

with a bit of pleading and wearing down, angel can convince him some nights to do a nose strip or face mask with them. now, getting him to take pictures with the strip or face mask on is a whole different and much harder story

whenever they can manage to, angel does cute poses while david mostly furrows his brows and pouts frowns, then they’ll add cute and stickers over top. they don’t really posts or share any of the photos — partially because he’s prefer they don’t, but also because they like to have it as something for just their eyes only

and before you ask, no, he will not be putting on a fluffy animal headband, there is no budging him. angel would have to physically fight this literal wolf of a man; it’s either a black hair tie, plain headband, or his hair is down and in the way, but absolutely no fluffy animal headband……unless they pout hard enough, then maybe

baaabe + asher

like i said above, asher is the one who splashes his face a few times with tap water, pats dry with a hand towel, then calls it good. and baaabe is lowkey appalled cause…sir??? no???

what’s kind of funny about it is his skin is relatively clear despite doing absolutely nothing to keep it clean and moisturized ( hand over your non-existent routine and secrets, pet ‘em in the bag, right now )

another hc of mine that makes it even funnier is i also like to hc that asher had really bad cystic acme when he was younger, which you can see scars from if ya look close enough. he still does get some acne on his face — along with his back and shoulders — but it’s not nearly as severe

despite his complete lack of any skincare at all, he will gladly plop down on top of the countertop or toilet and watch baaabe do theirs. he’ll hand them whatever it is they need — wash, cream or lotion, towel, wipe, face mask, pore strip, it is in their hand without even having to ask or reach for it, asher is on it

he’s talking the whole time about anything and everything under the sun. it could be about either of their work or coworkers, it could be his all time favorite topic of gossip, it could be plans for tomorrow or the upcoming week, doesn’t matter what, he’s talking

unlike david who has to be lovingly forced to wear a fluffy animal headband, asher is the one who not only puts it on willingly, but bought both himself and baaabe ones to wear, you can decide what color and animal it is, he would literally wear any of them :)

sweetheart + milo ( + aggro )

milo is the one who has the twenty step skincare routine /hj

and, honestly, not just hum, but sweetheart too. like angel did for david, milo was with sweetheart through every step of the process : what to buy, what products to use, what steps to do in what order, literally every. single. step

despite how complex it is for them to do, this is sweetheart and his way to relax after a long day, this is how they wind down before bed. it’s not just because it’s cleaning off the dirt and sweat and exhaustion, it’s also the tender and domesticity of it ( same goes for showers, but that’s not our focus )

yet another couple who loves to do each other routines for…well…each other. similarly, on the days that are especially draining, they’ll shorten it down to the arguably most important steps — quick wash, pat dry with a soft towel, some lotion. and if on the rare occasion that is too much, then they’ll do a face mask and call it good for the night

now, when it comes to the fluffy animal headband, i feel like milo is 50 / 50 on it. he’s got tons pf headbands and hair ties and whatnot to keep his hair back, and, yes, one of them is a fluffy animal headband, but unless sweetheart wears theirs, he likely won’t choose it out of all the other options

i can’t decide if they have all the bottles and jars and rollers and whatnot spread out on the countertop or stored equally as nicely away in a medicine cabinet

because the first allows the funny thought of someone going to use the master bathroom ( cause you know these two have a master + guest bathroom ) and seeing all of it and being like :O

that, and aggro hopping onto the countertop of which he knows he should not be on and pawing at everything, only for one of them to fix it, only for aggro to then again mess with it

speaking of aggro, that little stinker loves to sit in the bathroom with milo and sweetheart to watch them do their routines before bed. when he’s particularly impatient or tired, he’ll rub against their legs, meowing and crying for them to hurry it up already

© biteforblood. please do not translate, repost, or redistribute in any way on any platform.

[wolfsune09]

Do the wolf gang gang wear dresses if so what ones are their favorite?

I want that bitch Leo in a fucking corset and he is gonna like it

Also Tasha deserves to feel pretty! That's if she is comfortable in dresses of course (:

OOC: THE SIMPS ARE EATING GOOD TONIGHT! C'MERE ALOHA'S FRIDGE AND LEO SIMP, I KNOW YOU'LL LIKE THIS!

It started with just Milo, I swear.

(In character, as wolf.)

Alright, I'll do the talking! I got this picture of Milo last summer, check it!

He told me he's very comfortable wearing just about anything, he doesn't care what gender it's "labeled" as. His mom always taught him to 1. Be kind to others and 2. Be kind to himself. Which also meant do do what made him happy, witch also included clothing. He enjoys sundresses in the summer, but it's hard to find his size^^

(I sewed him some pockets, too! So he can put seeds n stuff in there when he's gardening.)

Next, is Tasha. You sure know our girl well, you're right about her not liking dresses. I asked her about it and she said that maybe one day she might, but she's not quite ready for that yet. She looks hot in a suit anyways, so not like it matters, right? And you probably haven't seen her in a bun yet, cool huh?

And then-

Leo, hey! Give me back the phone!

"Sorry, but I got this one!"

"You thought you had me there, huh? Well, sorry sweetheart, but I look good in everything!"

Ugh, what a pain in the ass.

Anyways, last up is yours truly! I don't wear dresses often, but I've started to get much more comfortable with stuff labeled as 'feminine'. A while back I would never have imagined wearing anything like this, but things change over time. Only time I'll really wear any sort of dress would be if I'm dressing up goth/alt style, but even then, I much prefer skirts. Gotta have the platforms too, of course.

[terrainofheartfelt]

What are your thoughts on Dan and Rufus' relationship?

Oh good. A softball question! 

It’s weird, bc I think Dan and Rufus probably have the best parent-child relationship in the whole show, but also, the bar is so low already, yk? And it’s weird bc there is such a marked difference in Rufus as Dan’s parent and Rufus as Jenny’s parent, so it’s hard for me to separate out what’s good about their relationship, when Rufus was so unhelpful when Jenny went through similar stuff—and it therefore snowballed and got Worse real fast. 

But trying to put that aside for a moment, Dan and Rufus did have a fairly good relationship, especially in the early seasons, not perfect—bc it never is—but Rufus really was a source of stability for Dan in an objectively very unstable time, and Rufus provided needed reality checks against the UES world. And, sometimes (but not enough imho), Dan gives that same check to Rufus, when he becomes too entrenched in Being Right and withholds himself from making amends (which he does with Jenny & with Lily at different points in the show)

The danger comes, I think, when Rufus projects his own feelings and history on what Dan goes through, and tries to either get Dan to make the choices he would or do what he thinks he should have done. But those moments are also so interesting, bc it’s two characters that the show paints as very similar, finally having differences, and colliding over them. 

(Though, I maintain my opinion that Jenny is more aligned with Rufus than Dan, and Dan is more aligned with Alison than Rufus.)

Moments I’m thinking of: in s2, when Dan pursues writing a story about the Basses that Rufus says will be exploitative (and like…is it though Rufus?). And tellingly, in 5b, when Rufus projects his marriage (and its current drama) all over Dan and Blair’s relationship, trying to convince Dan how he should approach the relationship and define his own boundaries. It had nothing to do with what Blair and Dan were up to, really, it had everything to do with Lily and Rufus. 

And, what I find most fascinating: the Milo arc, when Dan has a baby and Rufus loses it, like, he was mad. He wouldn’t talk to Dan about it, Lily’s the one who makes the first move to help Dan out. (And, as Dan points out, when there was a pregnancy rumor about Serena going around, Rufus had…not the best reaction). It’s also meta I’ve written somewhere before, (here) but I think it’s Rufus projecting again. Because I think Rufus had kids very young—he and Alison talk about that—and he says more than once that he gave up his career to be a dad. So he sees his son with talent coming out of his fingertips and sees what he almost had, and projects that could-have-been all over Dan. (S has meta kinda about that here) And Dan, for better or worse, doesn’t see the big picture in the same way, in those moments when he clashes with his father, Dan is always trying to do his best with the information he has at the time. He thinks he knocked Serena up junior year, he tells her he loves her and supports whatever her decision is. When Georgina shows up at his door about to pop, he has to help her, because what’s the alternative? Say no? That’s not the man his father raised him to be. The father who, when his mother packed up her life and left, stayed with his family. And when he’s trying to find his footing as Blair Waldorf’s partner after thinking he was alone in his love for so long, he’s focused on making her happy. 

So uhhh, in conclusion, my thoughts are complicated, like their relationship. But if I could change only one thing…I would have it be that Dan fights harder for Jenny. (because she needs someone in her corner I MEAN). Because she needs someone, and because I think Dan is the only one (aside from maybe his mom and Lily) who have the point of view and pull to give Rufus some perspective. 

Though, maybe Dan pulling away in s3 while Rufus and Jenny were constantly butting heads make sense for his character. He could have had major fatigue from refereeing their fights. And maybe that’s a role he only learned to cover after Alison left. It’s a rich field to mine. (more meta about it here)

[bondedtrauma]

send 👫 fo relationship headcanons mwah    /    accepting!

   @fckhacks​  asked  :   👫 you have to do it for both elli and aleks AND seki and aleks

    ALEKS AND ELLI --

             ☆    elli stalks him on the lowkey. sucks up to milo to get info about what aleks is up to etc...... she’s constantly thinking about him and wondering what he’s doing, even if she isn’t texting or calling him!! she knows he has a tendency to get into nonsense so she’s gotta watch him.

            ☆     no matter what she says, she DEFINITELY had jealousy issues in high school when finding out that aleks and leo used to sleep together. it probs ate her alive. she went with the kill him with kindness route, and here they are. her skin still probs crawls if aleks brings up a “personal” memory with him tho

           ☆    for our cyberpunk verse, i think elli relies on aleks more than she’d ever like admit. esp after losing her arm!! offering aleks a job within the crew was a big step forward trust wise after the seki incident, but i don’t think elli doubted him with the company for a second. she’s a little more morally gray in that verse, but no doubt i could picture her killing someone for him....

           ☆    i think russ and elli have spoken about aleks more than he’s aware. she’s naturally very protective of her brother, and i imagine hearing a single negative word about mister money would make her PISSED!! she probably cyberstalked his dumbass and sent some nice warnings. the next day all of his social media disappeared for unknown reasons. ( def aleks )

   ALEKS AND SEKI --

            ☆   seki got sober before aleks, and is easily able to tell when he’s high af ( all the time!!!!! ). i imagine that interacting with him can be triggering for her, but she tries cus she loves him. she looks to him as a reminder of why NOT to do the hard stuff.

           ☆    before properly meeting him, she HATED him, fullstop!!! he was a walking trigger for her and she wanted his ass OUT OF HER SCHOOL. it wasn’t until she actually attempted speaking with him that she started to get along with him. high school is already hard for a teenager, but i imagine it’s much more difficult for these two specifically. also he flirted with milo so she says he deserves the death penalty ( lovingly )

           ☆    regarding aleks’s sobriety, i bet there was at least a single time where seki tried to convince him to pony up and kick it, but we know where that led..... she 100% feels guilt for not helping him out of the hole he dug himself into earlier. while i doubt she was there the first time he used, she definitely could recognize when he was under the influence at school.

          ☆    THEY HAVE KISSED BEFORE. all besties have. seki probably told him he was faking being gay or some shit. if u ask her, it never happened.

[gazrgaley]

Manifestation of a Monster

There were problems the night before. After a while, he would have to deal with it. Nonetheless, seeing the fast-paced pictures on the TV was a welcome diversion for the time being. He now despised the very word "distraction." And while lazily strewn across the couch. Thoughts from the past year flooded his head.

He couldn't give himself time to think about it now. He needed to put the past behind him and start over. Certainly, it wouldn't be a breeze.

He decided he had to reach out for support and share his story with someone else. Nevertheless, it was horrifying to consider letting his guard down and revealing his weaknesses, even to Milo.

He blinked his eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind of the destructive ideas. He should have taken things slowly and concentrated on the here and now.

To block out the voices in his thoughts, he reached for the TV remote and turned up the volume. He would face his demons tomorrow. Today, he would just focus on the fake people and their fake drama.

The elevator's doors opened in the corridor. Surely it was Richard. Inquiring minds wanted to hear more about Ma'at. It was a topic about which he felt less than enthusiastic. He looked over at the stuffed rabbit next to him as the door opened. It's also possible that he was there to reprimand him. Whatever the case may be. There was no way to sugarcoat the change.

"Where's Milo?" Richard asked as he stood over Grendel. His attention shifted from Grendel to the stuffed animal next to him.

Grendel interrupted Richard with, "I know," before Richard could continue. It would have been the same thing he told him the night before. Don't go to her house. It's too much work for me. You are just hurting yourself. All of this was true, but it didn't make it any easier.

"But then, why did you do it?" Richard's response was monotone and uninteresting. "I'm not here to give you a hard time," he said with a sigh as he tossed the rabbit onto Grendel's lap as he sat next to him. "Seeing as how you are back on the surface, I wanted to get our story straight."

He ignored Richard's questions. The cover tale wasn't anything he was unaware of. For whatever reason, he decided to check the warehouse in hopes of finding Milo. Unfortunately, the only people there were the hooded weirdos who stool him, and when he tried to punch one of them, he accidentally hit a transformer. Bringing about an explosion of some sort.

This, of course, was completely false. The men with masks were nowhere to be seen. The electricity that killed so many came from an emotional outburst from himself. And the people who were there. The ones that killed. His train of thinking came to an abrupt end. Speculating about his true motivations was fruitless. Besides, if he stopped to consider the facts, he may remember Richard's account.

Richard continued to elaborate. Things that can only be understood by someone who was there. Grendel still didn't answer or show any signs of acknowledgement. Richard was familiar enough with him to know that Grendel wouldn't show any signs of listening, even if he was.

Grendel quickly shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and focus on the present. "I'm sorry, Richard," he said, forcing a smile. "I must have spaced out for a moment. What were you saying?"

It was a good squeeze on his shoulder, and Grendel flinched. He could feel Richard doing it. His expression was one of sympathy. It's tough, I get it; in the meanwhile, just try to avoid making any rash decisions. When Richard got to his feet and prepared to depart, Grendel nodded. With that, Richard left, closing the door behind him and promising to return later to have a chat with Milo.

***

"How come you have so much knowledge and haven't located anything yet?" Milo inquired, his gaze drawn to the various colour-coded folders Richard had in front of him.

Everything was carefully arranged on the kitchen counter. The question was not intended to be insulting. But he'd known Richard long enough to know that it didn't take much information to piece things together.

"Well, Milo," Richard explained, "it's not just about the amount of knowledge I have; it's about how I organize and digest it." "Each of these folders represents a different component of the search, and I've spent a lot of time figuring out the best method to categorize and analyse the data. It's going to be a difficult task, but I'm determined to locate what we're looking for."

Milo was tempted to press the issue further. His precision was nothing new and made no sense. He noticed the name of a church right then and there. One that appeared to be extremely near Richard's house. Was that the one he was going to? Was that the reason he was so hesitant to move forward?

Milo didn't need a religion, but he respected it. That is, assuming common sense didn't get in the way. "Who is this?" Milo pointed at the priest's photograph.

Richard spoke with a quick glance over his shoulder, barely paying attention. "That's Malachi, the priest." He works as a priest at St. Ivies Cathedral."

"Do you go to that church?" Milo inquired, sounding more critical than usual.

"Yes," Richard replied, barely thinking about it.

"How come he's in your suspect file?"

Richard interrupted his work for the first time. "Because a large shipment box was brought a few days following the kidnapping, along with a few additional groups." The majority of those on that list have been exempted since I was able to determine what they carried over with them. I haven't gotten a straight answer from him yet."

Milo nodded in agreement. "I see. It's critical to have an open mind and avoid jumping to conclusions. He's a priest, but that doesn't mean he's not interested. Before making any choices, we should continue to investigate and obtain more evidence."

Richard concurred. "You are correct. We cannot dismiss somebody based on preconceived beliefs. I'll keep trying to acquire more information from him and see if he has any ties to the case."

Milo nodded, content with the plan. "Good. Let us continue to work on this and see where the evidence leads us."

Richard was not the type to hold back during an invasion. He did not do extra favours for anyone simply because he knew them personally. He could only think of an extension if it was for Molly or his family.

"I've been pressed for time lately. But don't worry, I'm not being biassed." He gazed absently through the papers. Making certain that no one feels out of place.

Milo would have questioned him further, but Grendel looked over to the counter where the two of them were sitting. "What are you up to?" he questioned, leaning against the counter and scattering a few papers with his elbow.

Milo thought Richard was ready to say something when he looked up for the first time. Instead. He took the folders from Grendel. Piling them neatly beside him.

A photograph of Ma'at slipped out as he did so. The photo was crisp and new and had nothing in common with the woman he had previously known. Her eyes were empty and her face sunken in. It still stunned him how flawless it appeared, almost as if looking at her through a window. Photographs, or pics as some call them, appeared to be magical in their ease of acquisition.

"Who's this?" Grendel inquired as he lifted the photo and examined it from every aspect.

"Ma'at," Richard murmured as he pucked the photo from his grasp.

Grendel creased his brow. "It's Ma'at. She looks like death."

"I'm sure you wouldn't look your finest if you were locked away for thousands of years," Milo retorted.

[when-did-this-become-difficult]

Yes. I also was glad it came back. And i also love how realistically they dealt with the box - a civilian finding it. I like how they wife sensed that her husband is not coming back and she took it to the police.

I also think Miriam should stay with the juveniles because they somewhat still receptive to her. At least more than adults seem to be. I also think if the character stays it is the road for her. Young people are still can change or can decide to change, older ones not so much.

Yeah. The crimes nature is not evened out. I mean releasing people who know how to handle automatic rifles and already killed people is not the same as pick pocketing and such. Also i somehow would not even put Bunny on that list because of what i perceived with the prison scenes. He defends himself if he has to but he doesnt seem that violent. I mean his thugs carry guns, he said something along the lines that the boss doesn't need a gun.

I hope Sawyer comes back. I would imagine a similar scenario, that he is needed in Kingstown especially now because i don't think the police is able to handle this heat if the things start to go really bad. I mean if not for Kyle, Ian would have been shot in the pizza place scene. Also from some pictures i have found Sawyer has a new haircut and different clothes that he wore previous seqson and the recent one, so i would assume that there is gonna be a new season. It really would not surprise me if Sheridan already shot season 3. He seems to have a crazy work ethic and people seem to be giving him a lot of trust - they know... -. I hope i see him significantly more. But i also hope for the same for Mikes assistant, Kyles wife and Milo.

I think Sheridan can surprise us. I mean Dillon played the sheriff in Yellowstone and he got into a restaurant hostage situation where he was in a restaurant as a guest when armed robbers came and Kevin Costner and Cole Hauser's characters saved the people and tried him, but he got shot in the chest and died there in the restaurant while trying to reach his daughter for the last time but he died before she picked up a phone... Kind of good scene it was. I really don't know about Ian...it could go either way like with any character in Sheridans worlds. Stevie i don't care much to be honest. In the scene with Sawyer harshly interrogating a criminal and pulling his ear to find out where the guy went who blew up his own kid and wife cooking meth at home, Stevie just straight up laughs and finds this amusing. But i don't know that was the actor breaking character or pure character.

Also i have the feeling Joseph is trying to play Milo. I mean he has a kid with that prostitute girl and it really seems so he tried to desperately get the info out the site worker before word reaches Milo. I find it hard to believe that Joseph is deathly loyal to Milo. I sense he is an opportunistic character, and opportunity just knocked.

It is a pleasure to talk, as always. :)

@minamartin always a pleasure! <3

I agree, I think that the whole box storyline was great. They subverted that same old boring scene that we've all seen already many times in thriller and horror movies, where the wife is just sitting there nervous but doesn't do anything, and gets killed—it's way more realistic for her to be like "uh fuck this I can't handle this" and run to the station to give up the bonds.

100%, Mariam should stay with the juveniles. I would be thrilled if they found a way to connect that to the plot without making the entire point of the storyline just "Mariam is stupid for trying to help people" and I actually have a little hope that they can do it! You can do it, guys! I believe in you! Haha

Yeah, I think Bunny is definitely experienced with violence, because you don't lead a gang that runs drugs and is intimately interconnected with prison gangs and—if I recall correctly?—is involved with sex trafficking somehow?? I'll be real, I skipped over a fair bit of Iris's storyline in s1 just to preserve my own sanity, so I might've misread some of the dialogue there. But I think Bunny must have a serious history to have gained his position. What makes him a standout leader, though, is that he's very much like Mike in the sense that he doesn't particularly enjoy killing and chaos, etc, he just wants the world to run relatively smoothly and for him to be in charge of his own little patch. I don't really know if this is true in real life in regards to criminal leaders, but in SHOW life, having him on the outside is hardly going to increase the amount of violent that occurs, and in show logic, it might even help keep the peace, relatively speaking.

Yeah, I think Sawyer will come back, as well as Mike's assistant. I was talking about it earlier this week and somebody mentioned that MIke's assistant wasn't in the episode, but she WAS mentioned by Kyle as leaving behind a post it note saying she'd be back or something, so surely she has to return at some point, or else what's the point of the sticky note? Milo we need more of for sure. Kyle's wife we at LEAST need once to see how the baby storyline impacts on Kyle.

I don't really think they've already shot season 3, because I think if they did, they'd have mentioned it when Jeremy Renner was injured in the accident. As a sort of "hey guys, don't worry, s3 still a go" way. Like I think right now, they don't have s3 yet, and they're waiting to see how well their leading man recovers to see whether or not they can go ahead with it, and to see if they need to accommodate him physically in the scripting or re-scripting of the season. Renner's not my fave, but the poor guy, seriously, yikes. I hope they can figure something out that doesn't put too much stress on his body.

Hmmm, but the thing is, I think they probably killed Dillon off on that other show Yellowstone because they knew Dillon would have to switch sets eventually to go work on Mayor of Kingstown. But now that he's firmly in Mayor of Kingstown, I only see them killing off Ian if the show's about to end. I also think that Stevie laughing was definitely in-character, as if it was out of character then I think the editors of the episode would've cut it out. It's definitely in keeping with the entire way that the police force (and most of the characters, let's be real) treat violence, like, they really are so casual about it when it's being done to somebody that they can compartmentalize as not being human, someone they don't have any empathy for (which again is most people alas).

Very interesting about Joseph trying to play Milo! If that is the case, Milo may have him killed or something...I don't know, Joseph is really and TRULY not the brightest lightbulb or the most capable guy. I mean come on, how many times has Mike kicked his ass—and Mike's okay, but he's not like the world's greatest fighter of all time, world class judo, he's just a capable guy (which leaves Joseph looking super incapable). I agree that Joseph is just an opportunist, but I am curious to see if this whole baby thing leads him to have any other motivations (such as interest in his family) that will make him clash with Milo.

I also really think that the madam character that Iris is dealing with is interesting...they're clearly trying to spend a little time setting up Iris's situation with what is essentially a combined club and brothel, right? Why would they spend all this time on these dynamics just to do nothing with it? So I actually have a little bit of hope that perhaps Iris will either learn from the women around her, including the madam, or that she will manipulate one of them into getting something—SOMETHING!—that she wants. I see them making a little bit of an effort with Iris, thank goodness, and I want to see where that's leading us.

So many questions and thoughts! I guess I'm gonna end up paying for more than one month of Paramount to see how it all ends, nobody look at me lmao *covers own face*

[norahastuff]

Damn, This is Us, what a great episode! I really love it when they give Jack more depth and nuance. He’s usually depicted as this picture-perfect Superman figure who is the beacon of all that is good in the world, but when they highlight his flaws, that’s when Jack’s character really makes sense to me. 

Jack likes to see things in black and white – he’s really not good with the grey. It’s why he couldn’t make space in his life for Nicky when things got complicated with him. Nicky and the messiness of what he’d done didn’t fit in new, happy life Jack had worked so hard to carve out for himself. 

Jack’s good with big gestures. He enlisted so that he could go to Vietnam and find Nicky, swoop in and save the day. He was able to help his mother with the big move and get her away from his abusive father. Hell, in this episode Mike even said that Marilyn thought of Jack as her hero because of what he did for her. 

But the After is more complicated than that. When there are no more grand gestures to be made, Jack has to live with the reality, and the reality is that he’s so focused on leaving the awfulness of the past behind him, it becomes harder and harder to have his mother be a significant part of his life. Even those weekly phone calls become more of an obligation instead what they were when he originally proposed them: a promise of staying connected to each other. By the end he didn’t know his mother at all, and God, I felt that in every millisecond of Jack’s breakdown at the end. Kudos to Milo (and Mandy) on that, because Jesus what a scene. So raw and insanely intimate - even just the way it was shot. This episode really left me with an even greater appreciation for Jack as a character.

Also: 

- Rebecca is the best. She sat in that car with three six-year-olds for a four hour car ride in the end after all. Ride or die, that woman.

- I love Mike. Mike is everything. Good for Marilyn. 

- I love that Marilyn encouraged Debbie to work on her poetry. It didn’t matter if Debbie was any good at it, Marilyn could clearly tell that Debbie loved it and just wanted her to be happy. Marilyn spent so long married to a man who made her miserable, she just wanted the people she loved to be happy. 

- And, oof, the whole “I don’t have a mom anymore” line when we know what’s happening to Rebecca this season... I’m not ready. 

- What a painful episode title. The second I saw, “Don’t let me keep you” flash on the screen, I knew we were in for it.

[brockadoodles]

morning flights to toronto - b. boeser

AN: I couldn’t give you too many Christmas fics without a splaaasshhhhhhhh of angst, that simply would not be true to my brand. Sorry fic Brock for how often I break you? But it’s okay because it’s just a character and not real hehe. Hope you enjoy this one, it’s a concept I really love.

Word Count: 2613

Warnings: Angst but a good ending I promise. 

A month and a half ago, if someone would have asked you what you were doing for Christmas, you would have smiled at them and told them you’d be in Minnesota, likely cuddled up by the fireplace with snow heavily falling outside, your boyfriend asleep next to you and your dogs at your feet. You would have told them how excited you were to go back to the place you had started to realize felt like your second home, a place where you pictured yourself raising a family, transitioning to a stage in life that you were starting to feel ready for. A month and a half ago, you would have been happily in love, instead of mending a freshly shattered heart during your favorite time of the year. 

You replayed the conversation in your head, circling over and over his words that echoed through your mind, wondering how you could have misinterpreted the signs for so long. You thought you and Brock were on the same page, you had moved in together, and had even adopted a second dog together, a husky mix named Milo. But it turns out, you weren’t on the same page at all you were two souls who had found yourself so consumed by the love story you thought you had that you ended up not realizing that Brock was still on book 1, while you had steadily moved to book 2. 

“I just don’t know that I see all of that right now,” he sighed. His head was resting in his hands and his eyes were blurry from his own tears that had started to fall as he spoke to you, a conversation that to him was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He loved you, that was never the problem. But sometimes, love isn’t enough to build a life with someone, sometimes you need something more than a connection that the two of you had. 

“Right now? Or ever?” You whispered, your own tears falling freely as you desperately wished for him to say anything but ever. You could give him space, you could give him time, but you couldn’t rationalize the idea that you had loved him in a way that he didn’t love you. You couldn’t accept that it had been one-sided, not when you were starting to build a life together. Brock ran a hand through his hair, his voice was scratchy from the dryness settling into his throat, the lump choking back his own tears as his voice pulled your heart out and tossed it on the ground. 

“I think we need to not be together right now.” 

That phrase struck you in a way that nothing else had before. It settled into your chest and pitched a tent there, a tenant that wasn’t paying rent who you couldn’t evict. You weren’t even sure it felt entirely real until you were sitting with him and having a serious conversation about moving out, and taking Milo with you.

You tried not to think about the reality of it all, losing a three year relationship seemingly in a matter of moments. It didn’t matter how long you and Brock spoke in circles that night, it didn’t matter what shape you tried to construct to fix everything and hang onto him, he was holding a box and you were holding broken pieces that didn’t fit. 

You were doing your best at what you hoped looked like starting over. You were trying to navigate finding yourself again after being so tied into one person, but it was nearing Christmas and as you sat in your friend’s sublet apartment with boxed of things around you that you and Brock had bought together and Milo at your feet, you wanted to be anywhere other than Vancouver for the holiday.  

It had taken you four days to call your parents. Four days of replaying everything in your mind and wondering if maybe he’d call and say it was all a mistake. Four days of cycling through the same routine of going from the bed to the couch on autopilot, tears springing to your eyes each time something reminded you of him. Four days of wondering if he even was hurting at all, a question that you weren’t sure you even wanted the answer to yet tortured yourself with anyways. But it only took five minutes for your mom to convince you to come home. 

That’s how you ended up back in Toronto, tucked away in your childhood bedroom that had been converted to be a guest room looking out at the blanket of snow that was dumping into the city. You settled into a new routine, waking up each morning and watching Milo out back playing in the fresh snow. You tried not to think about if he was missing Coolie as much as you were. You also tried not to notice each time Brock’s photo popped up as a viewer on your story, knowing that losing Milo was probably killing him. 

Brock spent the weeks following the breakup leading up to Christmas poorly attempting to convince himself that what he did was right. He agonized over it, constantly telling himself that you were two people who had been lost in each other for so long, that you needed to find yourselves again. He tried to convince himself that the codependency was the problem, that you weren’t growing together anymore, hell, he even tried to convince himself that he was the one holding you back from your dreams, feeling guilty for just how willing he knew you would have been to follow him if he were ever traded. But the thing about telling yourself something until it's true is that it doesn’t work, and that was a lesson that Brock was painstakingly learning the hard way. He couldn’t even pretend it was any easier when he was back home in Minnesota, because at each turn his dad asked him things about you and it broke his heart each time he had to remind him that you weren’t. 

Brock watched your story of Milo in the snow for what felt like at least the tenth time that morning. He heard your laugh in the background and you calling for Milo softly. He knew you were back home in Toronto, probably at your parents house running through the traditions your family had at Christmas. He remembers when he got to experience all of those with you, the year before. As he heard your laugh one last time from your story, he thought back to that Christmas, his own heart twisting when he thought about how he was always the one who could make you laugh, stealing wine drunken kisses in the kitchen in the dim light.

It took Brock one hour after you left to know that it was a mistake breaking up with you, but it took him three weeks and a Christmas Eve without you to come to the understanding that maybe, just maybe he could fix it. 

You groaned softly as you blindly reached for the source of the buzzing on your bedside table. You had half of a mind to turn over and curl up in your blanket and ignore it, the last month your phone had been filled with messages and calls, each person offering what felt like faux sympathy at your broken heart. It got to a point where you dreaded seeing a notification, just wishing that your friends would give you space to heal on your own. They could only express so much sympathy for a situation that they didn’t understand. But it was Christmas Eve, and as you adjusted your eyes to your phone screen, you thought about how whoever was calling this late must have been important. As soon as you picked up the screen and saw the photo on it, him with Coolie curled up against his chest, you felt your eyes water and your mind twist. You wondered if you were hallucinating, but your finger slid across the accept button anyway and you held your breath as you lifted the phone to your ear.

“Are you there?” His voice came through when you didn’t say anything. It was soft and strained, and you felt your heart clench at hearing it after trying to forget about how he sounded over the last month. You sniffled slightly, wiping your eyes and sitting up in bed as you nodded as if he could somehow see your movements through the phone. Milo shifted slightly at your movements, and your heart broke even more. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry it’s so late. Fuck, it’s like 2:30 there. I’m- god please don’t hang up.” He whispered. For a moment you felt like you could see him, probably pacing back and forth in his condo, hand running through his golden hair. You didn’t know why he was calling, and you didn’t know why you chose to answer, but you stayed on the line anyway, because what’s a broken heart at Christmas without the added pain of the one who shattered it waking you up at 2 am? 

“I’m here.” You said, your voice shaky. You leaned down to scratch Milo’s ear, your heart-tugging a big at knowing the breakup had not only affected you and Brock but the dogs as well. 

“Uhm, I..” Brock started, and you sighed softly into the phone.

“Brock, why are you calling?” There it was, the question he had expected. The question he had spent the last month preparing himself for, running through the lists and reasons in his mind constantly, and now that he was here, listening to you cry on the phone, he seemed to forget all of them. He felt like shit, not only for himself for ruining the best thing he ever had with you, but for calling you in the middle of the night on Christmas and making you cry all over again. 

“Come home. Or I’ll come there, I was wrong. I was so beyond wrong and to be honest, I’ve spent the entire last month knowing that. We were so happy, you know? I was thinking about rings and starting this whole life with you and I just lost myself, I started doubting us when it got serious because I was insecure, I was afraid you’d wake up one day and realize you don’t want me or this life. And I was wrong. I was wrong to hurt you, I was wrong to not talk to you about how I was feeling and I was wrong to break up with you when really all I want to do is marry you and have kids and, fuck, I just want all of that with you. So come home, let’s try again.” 

You curled into Milo, letting the tears fall down your cheeks as you took in the words he spoke. You knew Brock, and you knew he was telling the truth but was he worth risking everything for again. Could you realistically come back from this knowing that you could be sent packing up and back to Toronto at any time should he change his mind. It was a gamble, and you were never one to place bets when it came to your heart. 

“I’ll come to Toronto, I’ll book a flight right now, just to see you, just to try to show you that I want to make this up to you. I love you, let me show you that again.” Brock begged. 

“You’ll come to Toronto?” You squeaked, biting your lip in the darkness. 

“I already looked at flights, I can be there by 10.” He said. You let out a sob at his words, glancing at the clock and counting down how many hours that would be until you would face him. 

“I can’t lose you again. If we do this, I can’t.. Brock, I really can’t.” You whispered. 

You opened the door to him standing there, a bag on his shoulders, and his hands nervously tucked in his pockets. You passed over his hair that was covered in a dark beanie, his eyes tired and lacking the brightness you once always saw in him, his beard longer than he usually kept it. Brock looked like a reflection of you, a broken person who was wandering around trying to piece back together their own heart. You stepped out onto the porch, not caring that it was freezing cold and the snow was heavy. You didn’t care that you were just in leggings and an old sweatshirt of Brock’s you didn’t want to admit that you had taken from him. You reached out for him, burying yourself into his chest and letting the tears fall as you held each other for the first time in over a month. His hand ran through your hair as he pressed a light kiss to the top of your head. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He spoke, tilting your chin up so that his eyes could look into yours. 

“I missed you, and I love you, and please just-” Brock cut you off, pressing his lips against yours in a tender kiss. You felt yourself melt into him, the familiarity rushing back to you as he pulled you closer and deepened the kiss. You knew that the kiss couldn’t fix everything, that him coming to Toronto and back to you didn’t change what happened. But what you did know was that you had someone standing there who wanted you and had made a mistake, and maybe it was the holiday spirit talking, but you wanted to give him a second chance, and it was the only Christmas present that mattered.  

You held onto him tightly, tears stinging your cheeks from the cold. You didn’t even notice your mom had opened the front door behind you, instead you pulled apart from Brock when Milo came running up to your feet, jumping all over Brock and whining at him. 

“Milo, hi buddy, hi.” He cooed at the dog, squatting down and letting Milo jump all over him. It made you cry even more, realizing how hard the last few weeks without him had been. Brock looked up at you, a deep frown settling on his features because he knew all of your pain had been his fault. He stood up, letting Milo continue to jump on his legs as he grabbed your hands.

“There’s someone else who came with me.” He smiled softly. You furrowed your brow as he tangled his fingers with yours and led you down to where the car he must have rented was parked. You saw Coolie’s face in the window and you squeezed Brock’s hand tighter, your smile growing with each step closer to him you got. Brock opened the door, letting Coolie jump out and run all around you and him and Milo. His excitement coming out in loud whines. You watched as he and Milo started running around your yard together, standing close to Brock.

“It felt wrong without him.” You commented softly. Brock wrapped an arm around you and kissed your temple tenderly, a move that sent waves of calm through your body. You didn’t know what it would take to fix everything, but you had him here and he wanted to try. Maybe it would be rocky, maybe it would be hard, but losing each other even for just a few weeks only cemented in how sure you were about a life with him. So, even if it all crumpled later on, he still took an early morning flight to Toronto, and you weren’t going to send him away. 

[rbbalmung]

Pokemon SwSh GPL AU: Character Analysis P2

Hey all! I was going to call this “Gym Leader Analysis”, but I really wanted to talk about Leon and Sonia too. We’re just keeping this series going! Keep an eye out for P3 (It’ll probably be posted in the same night).

LEON:

AGE: 26

ETHNICITY: Half Hispanic, Half Black

GENERAL HEADCANNONS:

Leon is definitely cool uncle friend. I know he is a hot mess and can barely look after himself, but I just feel like he is so good at taking care of other people. 

Leon is a man of many faces. He can pump up a crowd one moment and rid his face of emotion the next. It is definitely jarring when someone first gets to know him. 

Leon is pansexual. He pretty much flirts with anyone (within his age range, of course). That being said, he isn’t out to the public yet. He isn’t ashamed of it at all; he just doesn’t want his sexuality to be the only thing he’s known for. 

Speaking of flirting, there is nobody he flirts harder with than Raihan ;) 

Leon was 12 when his dad died, and it hit him really hard. Since the rest of his family took it even harder than he did, he internalised a lot of his pain and focused on trying to help raise Hop. He doesn’t really feel like he ever got the closure he needed. 

Oh boy, is Leon protective over Hop. There is a 10 year age difference between them, so he will always feel like Hop is his “Baby Brother”. 

(Fun fact: He develops a similar relationship to Gloria when he becomes her Champion Mentor). 

Leon is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. He doesn’t really process the fact that some of the things he deals with are incredibly dangerous, which is a bit concerning to his friends. On a more lighthearted note, this means that he will ride any roller coaster without breaking a sweat. 

Cannot cook to save his life. 

Leon, like Hop, has ADD. That’s why he’s always getting lost/seems to have trouble keeping focus. 

SONIA:

AGE: 26

ETHNICITY: White

GENERAL HEADCANNONS:

Sonia is the smartest out of our gaggle of characters and she knows it. 

She and Leon entered the GPL together, but she dropped out before going to Hammerlock. Sonia originally joined the league thinking it was something she wanted to do because she was good at pokemon battles, but she quickly learned that the rigorous lifestyle trainers live wasn’t for her. 

Sonia had an uncertain period of her life where her best friends had all become gym leaders and she was stuck in Wedgehurst helping her grandmother. She definitely had imposter syndrome when hanging around them, so for a few years, she kept her distance. Attending University really helped her start to find her footing, though she wasn’t sure what branch of pokemon studies she wanted to focus on (until the game starts). 

She has a strong pokemon team, but she doesn’t fight with them anymore. She mostly keeps them around for company and they help her with her research! 

Sonia is super close with Hop. After becoming champion, Leon asked her to keep an eye on him. They very much have a sibling relationship (though neither will admit it). 

She is the friend that is overly invested in everyone’s love lives. Sonia is constantly trying to set everyone up together because she “just loves love”. 

RAIHAN:

AGE: 25

ETHNICITY: Black

GENERAL HEADCANNONS:

Tall boy! Raihan is freaking huge, and being around everyone else in the League only heightens this fact. He jokes that the one thing he will always hold over Leon is their height difference. 

You would think Sonia is the biggest gossip, but we all know that Raihan is. You can trust him if it’s something serious, but you have to preface that. If you don’t, you may as well kiss your secrets goodbye. 

Raihan is the best person to go to when you need help. He has big Gryffindor energy and will literally do anything you need him to. If he doesn’t, you just have to call him out for “being a coward”. His pride will definitely be the death of him. 

Raihan has the biggest social media presence despite not being champion. He is really good to his fans and will try to interact with them as much as possible. Will always sign autographs or stop to take a picture. 

He met Sonia, Leon, and Nessa through the GPL (they were all in the same season). He beat out Nessa but lost to Leon in the finals. Raihan took the defeat pretty hard and made it his goal to dethrone Leon, so he fought Hammerlocke’s previous gym leader and the rest is history. 

He really wants to impress Leon ;)

Bede once challenged his for his throne, but lost. Raihan always brings this up to him now that they’re both gym leaders just to piss Bede off. 

He really likes egging on his friends. Raihan never crosses the line, but he’ll say just the right thing to make you challenge him to a pokemon battle. 

Puts on a brave face, but definitely lets negative comments get to him.

The chaotic one in the friend group. 

PIERS:

AGE: 22

ETHNICITY: White

GENERAL HEADCANNONS:

Such a pure, soft boy. Literally the nicest, chillest person. He just scares people off with his edgy demeanour. 

He cares a lot about the people in his town. Since Spikemuth is small, it definitely feels like everyone there is a family. It was the main reason he refused to move the Dark Type Gym to a different location to obtain a Dynamax hotspot. (That, and he hates Dynamaxing). 

Speaking of, he is fairly new as a gym leader! Leon nominated him to participate in the GPL after noticing his raw talent in the GJPL (Galarian Junior Pokemon League). Piers didn’t expect to make it as far as he did, but he was truly the dark horse of his season. He made it all the way to finals and wiped the floor with the gym leaders he went up against. He did end up losing, but he used the newfound fame he received from participating to kickstart his band.

Two years later, Leon approached him again and asked if he was still interested in becoming a new gym leader. It started as a small, non league Gym, but his notoriety quickly gained Spikemuth new attention. He joined the League only one year after debuting. 

Despite being crazy talented at being a pokemon trainer, Piers really isn’t interested in it anymore. He likes the freedom that comes with pursuing his music career. (It definitely helped that his little sister shaped up to be an astounding pokemon trainer herself). 

Coolest big brother ever. Marnie chastises him for pampering her, but they are definitely best friends. They’re the type of siblings that, if one of them goes to the grocery store, the other will just tag along. 

Dad Friend. 100% a Dad Friend. Literally adopts Marnie’s friends the second he sees them. (Who are these twerps? Ok, I guess they’re my children now). Would never admit to this fact. 

Vegan. 

Piers and Marnie grew up in an artsy family with three other brothers (he is the exact middle child). They weren’t rich, but they are all super close and supportive of each other. 

NESSA:

AGE: 25

ETHNICITY: Black

GENERAL HEADCANNONS:

Looks are definitely deceiving with this one. Nessa is good at keeping a serene face, but if she loses, she is definitely seething underneath. 

So pretty, oh my god. She was scouted by a modelling agent during her GPL season. Nessa only signed after she lost the Finals Tournament. Her career started as something to keep food on the table now that she couldn’t become champion, but she has grown to respect her craft. She likes to use it to promote small businesses and make political statements. 

Nessa was trained by the previous gym leader of Hulbury (another water type trainer), so it was no surprise to anybody when she tried to hand their title off to her. Nessa refused to take it without winning a pokemon battle, fair and square. 

She is super athletic! Nessa was on the swimming team throughout school and won several region championships! Sometimes during the off season, she’ll help teach swim classes to younger kids. 

Best friends to lovers with Sonia! They met during their GPL but didn’t start to get romantic feelings towards each other until 6 years later. Everyone knows that Nessa has a girlfriend, but she keeps the fact that it is Sonia private because she doesn’t want the crazy fanboys to target her. 

Nessa takes on a big-sister-role to all of the new female gym leaders (Gloria, Marnie, and Bea). She and Melody will literally strike down anyone who even looks at their girls funny. 

Her relationship with Milo is hilarious to anyone who isn’t them. Nessa is convinced that they are rivals and must constantly train against each other in order to get stronger. Milo sees her as his best friend and will bake her treats for when they meet up. (Also, Kabu is their dad. I’m just stating facts). 

[kousin-itt]

King Pistachion Appreciation Post - Because Some Villains are Better than Others

I’ve been rewatching “Milo Murphy’s Law” just for the fun of it (also I’m scribbling out some more fanfictions and I wanted inspiration), and I got to “Missing Milo”, and I was reminded of how much I liked King Pistachion as the antagonist, and I decided I wanted to list out the reasons why, and I thought I would share it on Tumblr just because.

Look, this is going to be a long-ish read, but I included screenshots from the episode so it’s not just a wall of text. If you’re bored or you’re interested in villain analyses, read on. Have a lovely day!

First of all, can we acknowledge what an efficient villain is King Pistachion? Sure, it took him some time to mutate, grow, gain sentience, and uproot himself. But it didn’t seem like much time passed before he overthrew all of humanity. Or, at least, overthrew the Tri-State Area and began remaking it in his own image. He made quick work out of taking control of the capital building (the symbol of the government he wants to overthrow) and the Bureau of Time Travel (home to the few people who could feasibly stop him). This here is a villain who truly understands the phrase “Many hands make light work” as he storms the world with his Pistachion army.

Speaking of Pistachion army, how cute is it when King Pistachion acts so fatherly to his children? His opening speech for “We’re taking over the world” included telling his kids how proud he was of them and taking family selfies to celebrate. I mean, he has pictures of his kids on their birthdays and causing general destruction and mayhem. What a supportive dad!

But, seriously, the two things that make King Pistachion a compelling and formidable foe are his powers and his intelligence. Let me explain.

It can be assumed that King Pistachion has the same powers as the other Pistachions: vines that shoot from the wrist, making flowers with knockout gas, etc. etc. etc. Now take a look at the other stuff he did during the fight in the courtyard. He could manipulate the earth and use it to his advantage. In theory, he could cause stuff to just spontaneously grow, or he could change the earth at his feet to whatever he needs. It’s already daunting to face down a plant monster that’s (I’m assuming) 15+ feet tall but now you want to fight him on his home turf? Your odds would be much better on the ocean or in the sky or in a place devoid of plants.

Beyond those powers, he is durable and strong. He got hit by the time limo (or parts of it) at least three times, with nary a scratch nor a splinter out of place. Also, he got hit by a sink. A legit sink launched by a catapult by Cavendish and Dakota, but did that stop him? No. The SINK shattered, NOT King Pistachion. Most sinks are made of porcelain, as I’m sure we all know, and I’m fairly certain that you could throw a sink at a normal person and kill them. So, yeah. No wonder it was so hard to defeat him.

As for the intelligence, I have three key bits of evidence that show his strategizing and thinking-ahead skills.

1. Not only did King Pistachion take over the Bureau of Time Travel, oh no, he made himself a time machine! He also knew exactly where to find the fuel and made sure to round up all the 2175 clocks, taking away that resource from his enemies. (and potentially reserving that fuel source for himself). He didn’t just destroy the weapons his enemy had. He used the tools of his opponents to further his own agenda!

2. He knew about Cavendish and Dakota, and he made a strategy for capturing them. My theory is that King Pistachion checked the records at B.O.T.T. and found all the time travelers and their vehicles. Ergo, he would know that some of them (Cavendish, Dakota, maybe he even knew about Savannah and Brick) were not there during his takeover. So, to ensure his success, he organized his troops to capture the remaining time travelers and their time machines.

As we see in Part 2 of the “Missing Milo” special episode, one of the Pistachions (correctly) assumes the humans they caught were Cavendish and Dakota the missing time travelers; and he declares that, since they have captured the time travelers and their time vehicle, “no one can go back in time and alter the king’s existence.” (I’m pretty sure that’s close to a direct quote. I’m weird like that. I remember random lines from stuff I like to watch.)

3. King Pistachion fights smarter, not harder. He spends a good chunk of the fight in the courtyard protecting his past plant persona. Even when some attempts to draw him away work, he is quick to go back when he sees something or someone threatening it. When his soldiers are defeated and he is the only Pistachion left to fight, he doesn’t use brute force. No. He uses a dirty trick and threatens the lives of Milo’s friends to get him to surrender.

Yes, I’m sure some of us saw this scene and were like “Oh, come on! That is such a cliché! And super rude. Like, why you gotta be that way?” Predictable? Yeah, maybe. Effective? Absolutely. King Pistachion didn’t know about Milo at first; but he deduced pretty quickly that Milo was the type of person who would never call King Pistachion’s bluff in a situation like that. Either King Pistachion would drop Milo’s friends before he could destroy the plant, or Milo would succeed in killing the King Pistachion sapling at the cost of not having time to save his friends after the future King Pistachion vanished.

It was a 2-3 story drop. Even by cartoon logic, they weren’t going to survive that.

This is actually a great segue into the beauty of King Pistachion’s defeat.

Woodpeckers. Surprisingly reasonable weakness. There were episodes leading up to this one that woodpeckers are attracted to pistacia vera. So a whole flock, drawn by a woodpecker whistle, poking holes into King Pistachion’s bark and weakening him, makes total sense.

On a side note, did anyone notice that King Pistachion actually lost his legs? I think there’s some continuity gaps, but when you re-watch this scene in the episode, you can clearly see that his legs have broken off at the knee. But they were intact when he fell off the roof, so it can be assumed that the holes drilled by the woodpeckers weakened his bark so much that his legs just snapped off when he hit the ground. Way to embrace the dark moments, Disney cartoons!

But what really destroys King Pistachion was Diogee……peeing on the original plant. Yes, that’s gross. Yes, that’s a bit childish. But, hey, we’re talking about a kids’ show here. Besides, we had some foreshadowing earlier on when we found out Diogee’s middle name is “ex machina,” as in the stage theatre term for “the conflict is magically resolved with something no one expected, and it was probably a deity of some kind who caused it.” Ergo, a reasonable resolution to the problem of defeat-the-plant-monster.

As a final note, it was great that King Pistachion’s final words of “You haven’t seen the last of me!” rang true when Derek appeared and sort of brought the whole first season arc to a satisfying conclusion. That being said, I would have loved to see King Pistachion return. Like with a clone or something? But actual King Pistachion and not just one of his kids trying to live his dream. Because, as much as Derek succeeded in taking over the world, his plan wasn’t as well-executed compared to his father’s.

How did he go from "I'll make a popular TV show and use the proceeds to fund my scheme!" (great plan!) to "I'll just spend the next fifty years making realistic human disguises in some hidden factory somewhere." (not a great plan)? But, I digress.

Much love, King Pistachion! You were an awesome villain who occasionally popped into my nightmares!

[onlysarah235678]

A Little Bit Part 3

Pairing: Billie Dean Howard x female reader

A/N:  So damn…this happened fast. I don’t really know what to say. Other than I’m obsessed with Billie Dean. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. This part has a lot more Billie in it so hopefully that’s a plus. ❤️

Warnings:  Brief mention of death. Otherwise, the normal gay panic and kitten cuteness.

When Billie Dean realized that Bit wasn’t going to take care of Mickey beyond occasionally feeding him, she took it upon herself to keep him warm. She’d sent you an update a while ago, but hadn’t heard back, so she was keeping Mickey with her at all times.

She still had things to do today, so she’d changed into more comfortable clothes, she’d had to dig around her closet for a while to find something appropriate for carting Mickey around. She’d eventually settled on a hoodie she hadn’t remembered keeping and made her way downstairs to work some more with Mickey wrapped in a smaller blanket, in her pocket. It wasn’t ideal and she’d have to take him back up at some point to try and nurse more, but for now she had to figure out what her week was going to look like.

She had talked to her assistant, Michelle, about finding a more suitable pet sitter. She needed them to take care of Mickey like she was now. It was a pain, but she needed to find someone who would actually do it. She was willing to pay however much she needed to until he was out of the woods. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too long, but finding someone meant she could focus on work again.

She had just finished 2 months of filming in Europe for her show. She was tired and glad to be home. Luckily now that things had been finished up last week, she would have more free time. Still, she had a lot of promotional things to do such as interviews and she might have to rerecord some things. Honestly a lot of her responsibilities at this point just involved making decisions. That could mostly be done from home.

Most of it could be done by her assistant, but Billie was keeping Michelle busy with finding her a pet sitter. For this reason, she sat down in front of her computer and answered more emails than she had in a while. She sighed in relief when she was done and reached for a cigarette without thinking. It was already in her mouth when she looked down to Mickey who was sleeping in her pocket. She sighed in defeat before putting it down so she could check on him. He looked comfy so she didn’t want to bother him now. It had only been about an hour, but it was almost dinner time.

When Billie realized this, she reached for her phone to check and see if you responded. It had been a while and she wondered what you were up to. She really had no idea what you did in your free time, outside of watching movies.

Billie scrolled through her unread texts before she saw one from you that must have come in while she was on the phone earlier. She frowned at your first message because it confirmed what she feared. If Bit didn’t want to take care of Mickey that could mean that she might have to bottle feed him. That sounded like a giant pain. She decided not to worry about that until she had to.

The second message made her curious. She wondered who Milo was. Maybe a boyfriend? She disregarded the thought quickly because she was pretty sure that you were single. She had a feeling you wouldn’t have flirted with her, let alone asked her out without mentioning that you were dating someone.

Billie hadn’t been subtle when they’d met. She had been flirting and Y/N had flirted back. You didn’t strike her as the dense type, you were clearly smart, but she supposed she couldn’t know for sure. At least not until Saturday.

She considered the place they’d chosen for lunch. It was closer to her than the vet’s office which she was grateful for. She also knew that it wouldn’t really have mattered. She was eager to see you again, so much so that it should be embarrassing. She couldn’t really explain it. She just wanted to see what happened between you two.

Billie’s attention was pulled from her phone when Mickey shifted slightly in her pocket. She decided it was time to check on the other kittens, so she texted you back quickly before heading upstairs yet again.

Not a problem. Did you and Milo have a good time?

Milo was asleep on the couch when this text reached you and you laughed out loud as you looked to see how he was positioned. The dog was curled up on top of one of the throw pillows that was way too small for all of him to fit on. That said, the rest of him was slung over the armrest in what looked like the most uncomfortable position ever. You rolled your eyes before snapping a picture and sending it to Billie.

We did. He tired himself out.

You go to the kitchen to figure out dinner after sending the message. You don’t expect an answer quickly but only a few minutes later your phone buzzes from your pocket. You were in the middle of cooking, so you finished up before looking to see what Billie said.

He’s so adorable. Mickey and the other kittens are sleeping too.

You squint slightly at the picture that she sent you, trying to figure out where it was taken. It’s obviously Mickey sleeping somewhere dark, but it’s a weird angle and you’re at a loss. So you text her back asking where she’s keeping him. Hopefully she was taking your advice to heart and she was keeping a close eye on him.

Where’s Mickey sleeping?

In my pocket.

You laugh so loudly that you wake Milo up.

The next couple of days are a little less hectic for Billie Dean. Michelle found someone qualified to take care of Mickey and company, she needed to come up with names for the rest of them, while she was at the studio. They didn’t seem to have any troubles and they sent her text messages every so often which she appreciated.

It seemed ridiculous to be so nervous about these kittens, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted them to do well so they could go to good homes. She had decided that once they were old enough, she would take them to the clinic to be adopted out. She trusted you to send them to good homes. Even Bit who would definitely be fixed before going off to her next home. Hell, Billie might even have it done sooner. The idea of her getting out and doing this all over again made her physically and mentally exhausted.

You and Billie exchange text messages every day, but you’re back at work and busy for most of the day, so they’re pretty spotty. Once you get home, you barely have the energy to make yourself dinner, but you somehow manage to check in on Billie and the cats. So far, so good. They’re all getting bigger and one is close to opening their eyes according to Billie.

It isn’t until Friday night that you allow yourself to freak out about your lunch ‘date’ with Billie. You’ve been keeping yourself busy so that you’re not stressing too much. However, your method for keeping busy was watching her show after work, and even on lunch one day. Erin, who had helped you with Billie’s appointment, had actually caught you and you’d been able to play it off easily enough, but you’d been frazzled around her for the rest of the day. Erin had been glad that you were finally watching it because it was great and Billie was amazing and inspiring and the idea of seeing this woman, this celebrity again was growing more and more intimidating.

Sometimes you wished that you could just enjoy things and not stress about them up until they happened. Unfortunately, that wasn’t who you were, and you were still a little tense when you got in your car Saturday to meet her.

It was a pretty popular place that you two were meeting at, but it wasn’t hard to spot Billie once you realized where you should look. She was tucked away in a back corner outside. You stopped to talk to the hostess for a moment before you were pointed in the right direction. Not that you noticed.

You took a deep breath as you headed for Billie, watching as she noticed you from a couple tables away and stood up. You only had a moment to take in her appearance, a knee-length floral dress with heels that made her much taller than you.  You were a little surprised when she hugged you, but you didn’t complain when you recognized the same perfume she’d been wearing at her appointment. You don’t have time to question how you remembered that before Billie was speaking.

“Good to see you again, Y/N. Goodness you’re so tense.”

She chuckles under her breath while you blush slightly at the reminder about how you’d failed to calm down on the way here. You sit down across from the blonde before shrugging slightly. You looked down to where the medium’s nails-a different color this time-were fiddling with a cigarette.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just a little—it’s good to see you too.”

You cut yourself off before you can say anything too embarrassing, but Billie Dean, clearly realizing what you were going to say, shoots you a questioning look. You watch as she brings her cigarette to her lips, a lighter not far behind it before shooting you a different kind of look.

“Do you mind, sweetheart?”

You usually don’t like it when people smoke around you, but you can’t bring yourself to say no to her. You shake your head before watching as she lights it and takes a drag. You know you’re staring, but you can’t help it. You never really saw smoking as attractive. Until now of course.

“You’re a little what?”

You pull your gaze away from the cigarette now over the ash tray between you before looking back to Billie’s face to see that look is still there. You shake your head remembering what she’d asked before shifting slightly in your seat.

“Um—nothing—nervous. Just a little.”

You take back the lie when Billie raises an eyebrow in disbelief at you, and you briefly wonder how anyone gets away with lying to this woman. She’s still eyeing you in a way that makes you feel like you’re under a microscope, so you look back to your hands that are fidgeting in your lap.

“Why are you nervous, sweetheart?”

Okay. You feel a blush rise to your cheeks at the question and the damn pet name again. You almost want to ask her to stop, but you’d never do that. You would never mean it. It was just damn distracting and you almost forgot to answer when Billie speaks up again.

“You don’t have to be nervous, Y/N.”

You nod to yourself and try to summon your courage as you sit up straighter. You open your mouth to agree and maybe apologize for being such a mess when the medium adds something that stops you cold.

“I won’t bite. Yet.”

You feel your brain short-circuit at the thought of biting-oh god and your face flushes as red as a tomato. You hear her chuckle, but you miss the almost apologetic look she shoots you as you shake your head to clear it of those thoughts.

“Right, uh. I guess I just didn’t know what to expect.”

Billie nods in understanding as she takes another drag before offering you a smile.

“I don’t expect anything from you, Y/N. I just wanted to get to know you a little better.”

Any response you were going to give was interrupted when your waiter, Rick, came to take your drink orders. You just ordered a soda before taking the menu handed to you. You missed what Billie ordered as you busied yourself with looking for something to get. Despite the fact that you’d looked at the menu beforehand and knew exactly what you were getting.

“Okay. I can do that.”

You smile shyly as you duck behind your menu when Billie laughs. She takes another drag of her cigarette before putting it out and moving the tray from between the two of you. You watch over your menu curiously before you hear her voice again and your attention snaps back to her face.

Her hair looks a lot like how it did when you first met. It looks so soft and you really want to run your fingers through it.

“How long ago did you move to L.A?”

This question surprises you a little bit and Billie just smiles as you put down your menu before answering. You smile slightly as you do the math in your head quickly.

“Almost 6 weeks.”

You pause before asking, “How did you know?”

Billie’s smile widens as she thought back to your conversation earlier this week. “You didn’t seem to realize that it doesn’t get very cold here.”

You laugh before nodding. That’s what you thought had tipped her off. That and the fact that you had no idea who she was. Not that you’d told her that yet, or planned to.

“That makes sense. All I really looked into when I got my job offer was housing. I figured the rest would sort itself out later.”

Billie waited until your waiter came back with your drinks before responding. When he asked if you were ready to order, Billie told you to go first and she watched you curiously as you spoke with Rick. She smiled when you turned to her once you’re finished and she orders before handing her menu off to Rick.

“Did you and Milo make the trip together?”

You smile at the mention of your dog. You had sent Billie at least three more pictures of him throughout the week since he was always with you. Even at work, there was a doggy daycare so he was hardly ever home alone. You hoped that he wasn’t ripping anything up as you speak.

“Yeah, we drove here since he would have lost his mind on a plane, but it was a nice, long trip.”

You told Billie about how the day after graduation, you packed up your car and drove cross country with your dog. It took you about a week because you stopped a lot to sightsee, but it was relaxing and you definitely were glad you did it. You didn’t mention any family, but Billie didn’t ask so you decided to save that for later.

“I’d lived there all my life, but L. A’s a nice change. Not that I’ve seen much of it.”

Billie smiles at this and she bites back a flirty comment as she watches something change in your expression. It’s gone so quickly that she doubts she even saw it before you shoot her a smile, your dimples making you look adorable.

“Enough about me. What about you Billie?”

Billie smiled before she shot you a surprised look. “You mean you didn’t Google me?”

She had been kidding, but when she saw you blush slightly, she was glad that she’d said it.

God you were adorable.

You searched for a distraction and settled for taking a sip of your drink as you tried to figure out what to say. The truth was embarrassing, but you didn’t really want to say anything else. So you sighed in defeat as you put your glass down, and met Billie’s smug smirk.

“I actually didn’t Google you until you agreed to lunch. I honestly…I didn’t know who you were until about ten minutes before you arrived at the clinic.”

This surprised Billie, but she didn’t say so because she didn’t want to sound like a narcissist. Instead, she decided to see what you were willing to tell her.

“Really? Well did you learn anything interesting?”

You laughed before shrugging in faux disinterest. You’d read a lot about Billie Dean, but that didn’t mean you were going to tell her that. You didn’t simply want to tell Billie her life story. You’d rather hear it from her.

“Nothing as interesting as what you could tell me, I’m sure.”

You smile as you watch Billie stop short of reaching for her cigarette. She turns to you looking faintly surprised before she just laughs.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

Instead of offering a verbal response, you just smile widely only to break out into a laugh as Billie rolls her eyes at you.

“Well, I just got back from Europe last week. We’d been filming there for the past couple of months.”

This piqued your interest because you’d been to Europe a couple of years ago, but you hadn’t gone much further than Germany and Italy.

“Really? Where in Europe?”

Billie Dean spent up until your food came talking about the months she’d spent in Europe. She talked about what she’d seen and a little about the spirits she’d encountered. She made sure to check periodically to see if you were actually interested, but there was really no need. You were so invested in what the medium was saying that you didn’t pay your food any attention once it arrived. You were starving, but you didn’t want to miss anything that Billie said.

“I’m just glad that it wasn’t a complete waste of time. Sometimes that happens and it’s frustrating.”

You nod as you think about how this must work. You supposed that it was a common occurrence for Billie to run into stubborn souls who didn’t want anything to do with her. You had heard her say in one of her episodes that she could sense spirits without seeing them, and if they wanted to be seen they would reveal themselves. Otherwise, she was just talking to air and that was difficult to make entertaining.

“Can I ask a potentially dumb question?”

Billie nodded before she took a bite of her lunch. You watched as she swallowed before offering you an encouraging smile.

“Of course, Y/N.”

You nod before taking a moment to figure out how to best word this. It was bound to sound generic and like something she’d been asked a million times before, but you were genuinely curious. You knew very little about mediums. Unless the one or two episodes of Long Island Medium you’ve seen counted.

“Does it ever get difficult to tell who is a spirit and who isn’t? If they appear around you anywhere, how do you differentiate between them and just another person at this restaurant?”

You look around the crowded area as you say this, missing how Billie looks over your other shoulder instead. She takes a deep breath before closing her eyes briefly. She doesn’t notice that you’d turned back until she opens her eyes to see you looking at her curiously. Billie immediately shakes her head with a small smile despite her slight unease.

“It’s not a dumb question, honey. The best answer would be that it was confusing at first, but now that I’ve learned to pick up on their energies and hear their thoughts, it’s easier.”

You try to imagine this, but you fall short because how can you? The idea of living your everyday life and being able to feel and see dead people was overwhelming. You looked back to Billie to ask one final question when you notice she’d fiddling with the cigarette she put out a while ago.

“What’s your favorite part about your gift?”

This question is a little unexpected. Billie immediately stops fidgeting and smiles at you in admiration. Most people see her gift as a burden, or as a way to make money. Some even see it as an opportunity to exploit spirits for the sake of entertainment. She can see that you are truly just curious, and that you aren’t put off by the idea like a lot of people are initially. Or worse, fawning over it and asking her to sense the room or anything like that.

“I love when I can help people who don’t realize that their loved ones are still with them.”

Billie’s answer strikes a chord in you and you try to hide it, but you are a terrible liar. You knew you’d failed when you saw Billie frown slightly, but you spoke up quickly so you didn’t have to talk about that. You weren’t ready and the idea of doing so now, especially with someone you’d just met was terrifying.

“You must find that very rewarding.”

Billie doesn’t answer immediately, but you pretend not to notice as you busy yourself with your food. Billie can tell you don’t want to talk about it, so she just files your reaction away for another time before nodding in agreement.

The rest of lunch goes smoothly and by the time it’s over almost three hours have passed. It’s practically dinner time.

You don’t want to leave. You’ve enjoyed the time spent with Billie so much. She’s so easy to talk to, and you could honestly listen to her speak for hours and hours. It wasn’t until Billie looked at her watch that you realized she needed to go. You figured she had to get back to work, but she shook her head when you asked.

“Duty calls?”

Billie smiles before shaking her head. She’d finished all of her work this morning so she could spend as much time as possible with you. She hadn’t told you that and probably wasn’t going to, but she did need to get home.

“Not quite. I just need to check on the kittens soon.”

She watches you smile at this before sitting up slightly to lean in a bit in interest.

“Oh right. They’re still doing okay?”

Billie confirms that all of the kittens are doing well. They’re all growing and nursing and despite the extra attention that Mickey requires, he’s doing well too.

“They are. They’re getting so big. I swear they’ll probably be walking around soon.”

You laugh at this before trying to imagine 6 kittens wandering around Billie’s home. You picture all of them sitting on the medium and that’s just too adorable. You’re pulled from your daydream when Rick comes back with the check. You grab it before Billie can and smile victoriously when you see her pout.

“Sweetheart I was --.”

“Nope, I’ve got it!”

You quickly hand your card to Rick, trying not to freak out at the idea of him hearing Billie call you sweetheart. You feel your cheeks heating up so you just smile as you look back to Billie with a wave of your hand.

“Don’t worry about it. I asked you here after all, so my treat.”

Billie was still frowning as she shook her head and you opened your mouth to offer some sort of reassurance. You didn’t get a chance before she was smiling at you in a way that made you swoon.

“Alright, but next time, it’s on me.”

You can only nod dumbly as you try to process the fact that Billie Dean just implied that she wants to see you again. You barely notice Rick bring your card back as you frantically try to think of when you’ll be free next.

“Have a good rest of the day, ladies.”

You look up at that point a little caught off guard, but before you can stumble over a response Billie speaks for you both. You just focus on doing a little math and signing your name before putting your card back in your wallet.

“Ready to go, Y/N?”

You nod and stand-up following Billie’s lead out to the parking lot. You realize she’s just following you to your car, and you turn to ask her where she parked, but a hand on your lower back stops you.

“It’s okay, I’ll walk you to your car.”

You were so focused on just getting out of there with some semblance of your dignity that you hadn’t realized that people were taking notice of Billie. You just nod and start digging in your pocket for your keys. You unlock your car, leaning against it before you turn to Billie with a smile.

“It was good seeing you again, Billie. We should do this again sometime.”

You say this kiddingly, but at the same time you’re completely serious. Billie chuckles under her breath before nodding in agreement. She brushes some loose hair behind her ear and shoots you a dazzling smile.

“We should. When are you free next?”

You don’t even pretend like you hadn’t been thinking about it since the check came and responded immediately.

“My next days off are Thursday and Friday. What about you?”

Billie’s slightly disappointed that she’ll have to wait that long, you are too, but she mentions that her nights are pretty free next week. So you decide on dinner next Thursday night, since you work next weekend before you part ways.

Billie seems a little more on edge than she was when you arrived, and a quick glance around confirms why. Of course people will take notice of Billie Dean Howard. You just smile before reaching out to squeeze her hand.

“I’ll see you at some undisclosed location Thursday night?”

Billie insisted on surprising you for next time and you couldn’t help but find it both romantic and nerve-wracking. She merely nodded before letting you know that you’ll just have to be patient.

“I’ll let you know Wednesday, Y/N. Thank you for lunch.”

With one last squeeze, Billie released your hand and left you a little dazed. You watch her walk away until you realize you’re staring, so you quickly get in your car and shut the door. You take a deep breath before getting buckled and heading home.

You leave the parking lot and are a couple blocks away before you start screaming.

You have a date with Billie Dean.

You’re going on a date with Billie Dean Howard.

When you get home, you’re eternally grateful that Milo didn’t tear anything up. After a quick run through of the place to confirm this you retreat to your room to change clothes. You’re antsy all of a sudden, not that it takes a lot of thought to figure out why. You’re excited, terrified and you feel like crying a little which seems ridiculous. So instead of doing all of these things you decide to take Milo on a walk that will probably turn into a run to burn some energy and hopefully calm yourself down.

“Ready for a walk, Milo?”

As you predicted, your adorable dog runs to find his leash and bring it to you. You make sure you have your keys and phone safely tucked away before heading out.

You’re not typically someone who likes exercising in front of people, and if you didn’t have Milo you wouldn’t be going out for a run right now. Luckily your insecurities and paranoia are the last thing on your mind as you lock up and take off down the street, Milo right beside you.

You were too busy thinking about your date with Billie Dean.

Holy shit, what were you going to wear?

Part 4

[gameimagines]

Since you’re doing Sword and Shield stuff, how about some headcanons about how Raihan and Leon would try to woo/flirt with their crush? You could also add how (if at all) their flirting habits would change once their crush becomes their s/o if you want! Thanks!

Requested by: @lightningnose

Fandom: Pokémon SWSH

Notes: sorry about the wait! Long post because I took ten years! Hope you enjoy!

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How Pokemon SWSH boys flirt

Raihan

Raihan is the most blatant flirt. He’s always sure to compliment your appearance when he sees you, and he’s got a pretty good eye.

You get a haircut? He’s the first to say how it suits you. Wearing something he hasn’t seen you in before? Raihan lets you know how good that color looks on you before you can even greet him. Did you post a selfie? Expect three fire emojis (🔥) and two blue hearts (💙)

Raihan regularly calls you cute.

Raihan isn’t just appearance centric either, if you seem more confident than usual or you want to talk about your latest accomplishment - he eats that up. He’s your unofficial hype man.

Keeps! Asking! You! To! Battle! Him!

Even if you don’t have Pokémon of your own!! He’s like: “That’s no problem. Borrow Flygon and Torkoal.”

Raihan also keeps inviting you to come workout with him. He says having someone as pretty as you there is good motivation.

Raihan will take a picture with you and hit you with a: “We look pretty good together, eh?”

In short, Raihan’s flirting is very vocal.

That doesn’t change once you start dating. Raihan is still your number one fan. No one makes him feel as good as you do, and he wants you to know that.

Raihan’s affectionate over text, too. He does his best to hit you with a “good morning, beautiful” and “good night, gorgeous” every day.

Once you start dating, he amps up the physical affection. If he’s with you, he has some appendage touching you.

He’s big on wrapping an arm around your waist, but he also likes holding hands and putting and arm over your shoulders.

Not so subtly, Raihan hints that he wants you to wear his clothes. He’ll leave his jackets at your place or buy a second of the shirt he wants so you can have one.

Other ways he expresses his interest in you: taking you out on expensive dates, mentioning his “gorgeous s/o” in interviews, and being protective.

Raihan’s very protective. He doesn’t really get jealous, Raihan’s confident (perhaps overly so) and won’t feel inferior to others in your life. But he cant stand people trying to touch you.

At first, he’ll agree to any compliments thrown your way. E.G: “Wow, your love is hot.” “Too true.”

But the second someone wants to put a hand on you? Raihan is immediately stepping in. He trusts you not to lean into someone else’s advances, but he also wants to scare anyone off from trying again.

So Raihan will strut up, kiss you square on the lips, and turn back to the suitor with a “unassuming” grin. “I’m sorry, is this an old chap of yours? I hope I didn’t interrupt.”

Leon

Before he starts verbally flirting with you, Leon studies up on your interests.

If you’re a gym challenger, Leon looks up your team and tries to strike up a conversion about your type combos. If you’re an artist, Leon googles local art museums and asks if you’ve been. If you’re a writer, Leon tries to pick up (non Pokémon battle related, but it’s hard for him not to) some recent best seller.

Once he’s got that under his belt, Leon asks for your number to discuss things further (really he just wants to talk to you about anything).

Leon’s the type to bring you flowers. He knows very little about flowers, so it’s likely a bouquet of roses he bought from a flower shop. Probably won’t leave a cute note with them though, just a tag that says his name so you know who it’s from.

(Milo would bring you some flowers he grew himself, just sayin)

Leon’s a jock; so if you’re a trainer, Leon is at every official match. He cheers louder than everyone. It would be a little embarrassing if it wasn’t so flattering that the champion is cheering you on.

Additionally, he wants you at all of his matches! With you cheering him on, he can’t lose!

Leon isn’t as bold as Raihan with compliments at first, he doesn’t flat out say you’re beautiful but Leon does tell you that you look nice from time to time.

King of brief touches!!!

Leon always wants to have a hand on you. But before you date he doesn’t want to seem weird, so he finds excuses to give you quick touches. E.G: hand running past your back when he moves behind you, fixing stray hairs the move in front of your face, “accidentally” brushing his hand over yours

After you start dating, Leon is always holding your hand. He also likes kissing your knuckles while holding eye contact.

Leon calls you ‘beautiful’ as a pet name once you start dating.

He’ll take you expensive dates to classy venues, but he’s a bigger fan of adventurous dates.

Climb on Charizard, you’re flying to a new town for dinner. Come watch a gym challenge with him. Go get lost in the wild area and make some curry from the berries you find together.

Leon gushes about you to his family. Hop likes you a lot, and he adores his brother, but Hop is so close to telling Leon he can only say one thing about you a day.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Leon’s a tease. He doesn’t really start teasing you until you start dating, but once you do - it’s on.

Anything from giving you a passionate kiss and then focusing his attention to something else like he didn’t just give you the best kiss of your life, to putting the cereal up higher than you can reach - is fair game.

If you mention that there’s a Pokémon you’d like to have, Leon’s immediately off to go get you one. No task is too hard if it’s to make you happy.

[bella-caecilia]

Baby pink and sepia rose for the shades of pink ask 💕

Thank you so much for this, anon! This got really out of hand... Feel free to skip the uneventful childhood memory, I wouldn't blame you :)

baby pink – share a childhood memory.

I was about four years old. I wanted to draw a picture. A 'real' picture. I had discovered that 'special' pencils existed, watching my father using a ball pen to write his notes at the kitchen table. I thought with a pencil, grown-ups used I could draw real pictures. I was asking my younger brother, who was a little over two years old if we had these pencils too in our pencil box. We had a look together but we couldn't find one, only blunt coloured pencils.

So, little me sought my father again.

"Can I use your pencil?"

"Which pencil?"

"This one!" I pointed to the ball pen on the table.

"This is nothing to play with, Lia," my mother interjected.

I was getting anxious. "But I can't do it right without it!" I whined.

"What can't you do right?"

"Making a real picture." Somehow they understood. I dried the early stages of tears that had piled up on the lower lids of my eyes with the back of my chubby hand as my dad took me with him to his study. This was special. I was never allowed there. We had to cross my older sister's room for that too. I felt really big. My little brother just followed on my heels silently. He didn't make a sound which was quite unusual for the ruffian my brother was. He was just as in awe of the unknown territories as I. I was allowed to take a seat on my father's chair. It was hard to reach the tabletop like that but I loved it.

"Here. You can use that." Dad put a ball pen and a green highlighter next to the page of printer paper, he had fetched for me.

"Really?? Also the green one?" I was absolutely delighted.

"Yes, the green one as well," my father smirked at the wide smile on my face. My brother gripped the edge of the desk and lifted himself on the tips of his toes to see what was going on. He still didn't say a word. When my father left the room I sat there unmoving first, contemplating which great thing I could draw that was worth the use of the 'special pencils'.

"Oh, I have an idea, Milo!" I exclaimed. "I make a gift for dad! Because he gave me his pencils," I explained. My brother nodded.

"What do want to draw for him?" he inquired.

"Uhm... oh, maybe Jonathan, the whale from the book he read to us! He so liked the story!"

"I liked it too!" my brother insisted.

With great concentration, I dragged the tip of the ball pen over the paper. It was harder to draw a proper line than I had thought. The whale got a huge tummy on its right side (as everything I drew at that age; the princesses, the pictures of me and my brother, the fish, even the butterflies). I always tried my best to just make a straight line like I already had done on the left side but it never worked. However, with the ball pen Jonathan, the whale turned out more beautiful than any other of my drawings nevertheless.

My brother lay down on the floor at some point. But he stayed with me even though he had nothing to do himself. He just lay on his stomach, chin in his tiny hands, feet up in the air. I still remember the shoes he wore. His slippers were of dark blue like many of his clothes at this age. They had hard rubber soles that were dark red and I liked to knock on them with my knuckles when he had his feet up like this. The slippers had velcro fasteners and a stitched face of a teddy bear on the front. I remember them as clearly as the drawing of the whale.

I got particularly excited when I finally got to use the green highlighter. I added some small fish as friends for the whale but they weren't as easily recognisable as the drawing with the ball pen.

I don't know if I had ever been as proud of a picture as when I climbed down from my dad's desk chair and brought my dad the drawing I made for him that day.

The picture still exists, pasted into my mother's diary. It looks rather drolly.

sepia rose – share a poem you like.

I would probably choose different poems every day. I like to share two pieces of poetry I have enjoyed recently.

»I yearn to belong to something, to be contained in an all-embracing mind that sees me as a single thing. I yearn to be held in the great hands of your heart«

Rainer Maria Rilke, Book of Hours

»It feels as though I make my way through massive rock like a vein of ore alone, encased.

I am so deep inside it I can't see the path or any distance: everything is close and everything closing in on me has turned to stone.

Since I still don't know enough about pain, this terrible darkness makes me small.«

Rainer Maria Rilke, Book of Hours

[bundleofyarrow]

requests open!

new milo x reader content appears! hello world, i'm fresh to the pokemon fandom trying out writing fanfiction for the first time. i've started the first few chapters of my milo x reader over at AO3 called A Bundle of Yarrow. i'm also taking requests for general milo x reader imagines or longer scenes that can fit into ABoY's universe. while i will be writing the main storyline, i thought it would be fun to make a part of it collaborative and have other milo x reader fans send in ideas for scenes that fit between chapters. check out the rules page for more!

i'm new to all of this, so people feel free to comment or message me with suggestions. the link to the fic on AO3 is above, but in case you prefer reading on tumblr, below the cut is the first chapter. just a heads up, it starts in leon x reader land but moves into milo x reader as the story progresses.

enjoy!

Chapter 1: Postwick

Galar is a land of hills. Or at least, Postwick is, and it’s just about the only thing you’ve seen since you arrived. Soft curves of verdant green, sometimes tawny gold with a bale of hay or two. There’s a sign around here that says this is a farming town since days of yore, and the near constant whines of Wooloo are determined to never let you forget it. Lying on one such hill, almost completely vertical, you oversee the main road were balls of wool roll where they please. You feel transported, like you’re viewing another planet from some place outside.

The giddy hollering of children and Pokemon at the house not far away pulls you back to earth. A young girl bounds up to you with an anxious-looking blue creature in her arms.

“Look! It’s my new Sobble~ Leon got it for me! Isnt’s he great?”

Your cousin’s bright eyes implore you to sit up, propping yourself on your right arm once you realize one of your legs has fallen asleep.

“He’s adorable Gloria.”

You lean in closer to take a look, you’ve never seen a Pokemon like this before. The Sobble turns his face into Gloria, clearly shy and overwhelmed.

“It looks like he’s already taken to you!”

She looks down and holds him closer, beaming, rocking slightly.

“It’s okay, this is my cousin. That means part of our family!” Gloria turns slightly so her Pokemon can safely peek out at you. “I’m sure he’ll warm up to you too!”

You give the Pokemon your softest smile, and while he doesn’t completely warm up to you, he leans in a little to get a better look at you. Baby steps.

“Oh yeah, I also came here to say that dinner’s ready!”

The sound of sizzling meat and peppers hasn’t escaped your notice, but now the smell entices you to go and socialize with the family neighbors. Gloria shuffles back down the hill towards the fanciest house of Postwick, where the Champion of Galar and his family lives.

You take your time getting up and brushing off the grass from your clothes. A breeze rolled over the hill, reminding you that your Alolan wardrobe is way too thin for Galar’s climate. As you climb down, you see the neighbor boy, Hop, waving skewers at you before turning back to his bunny Pokemon, who kicks up some embers to give the meat a little extra char. You try to put on a smile as your auntie puts food in your hands and introduces you to everyone. It’s hard not too feel awkward, being not only new to this group of people but to this entire region, but you genuinely are looking forward to having the best time you can while you’re here. Eventually the adults get distracted by Hop’s antics, where he ropes in Gloria to do yet another trick with their new Pokemon. You sit down at the table nearby and just watch for a bit.

If you had been distracted, you wouldn’t have noticed the pair of big eyes pop up from the side of the table, topped with green tufts of hair shaped like leaves. You must have had quite the expression of surprise on your face when a little orange hand darted towards your food, because two bigger hands immediately scooped up the trickster before he could make off with your food.

“Now now Grookey, that’s not champion behavior!”

The admittedly cute Pokemon flailed in Leon’s grasp for a bit, shedding some fake tears until he was given a wedge of grilled Mago berry.

“Sorry about that, this little one is quite the handful around food.” He tried to seem stern but you could tell he was more amused. “He didn’t startle you too badly, did he?”

You strangely don’t feel that shy around Leon. It feels like you should be more star-struck, but maybe because this is the first time you even really knew he existed, he came off more as an ordinary guy with a flair for the dramatic. He seemed like a nice guy, wanting to give everyone a little attention, which also made him seem a bit spread thin. But you could see him start to settle as the light faded from the sky and fans stopped coming by to cheer at him.

“Oh not at all, I was just a little surprised! If I wasn’t paying attention, he would have be feasting like a king.”

The Grookey pouts as you let out a light chuckle, taking a finger and lightly rubbing his forehead.

“And have a massive stomachache tomorrow that I would have to deal with!”

Leon says everything with a little bit of a laugh, and his eyes seem like they are permanently smiling. He looks between you and Grookey while seeming in thought.

“You’re staying here in Galar for a while now, yeah? What are your plans?”

You slide over a bit to let Leon sit next to you as he sets Grookey on the table between you. His cape and hair make him seem larger than he is, and talking with him at eye-level feels like talking to Leon, the person not Leon, the Champion.

“I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I just had to…” You’re never sure what to say about your past, and the uncertainty of your future. “…get away for a bit. Maybe start over, find a clean slate.”

The breeze picks up again and you feel the sleeve of your shirt slide a little down your shoulder, exposing some skin. You don’t realize that you should be embarrassed about it until you catch Leon’s gaze eyeing your collarbone and then quickly looking back to the Grookey. It was common to show skin on the hot coasts of the Alolan islands, but as you take a look around, everyone around you is more covered up.

“I’d like a bit of adventure, I think.” You say absent-mindedly as you readjust your top, oblivious to Leon fidgeting a bit.

“Ah, well-” He moves in his seat again, “what do you think of this here Grookey?” Leon rests a hand on his head and lightly rustles it. “I think you two might get along!”

This took you by surprise, the last thing you were expecting was to be offered a foreign Pokemon.

“O-oh really?? But I thought you were going to train him to become a part of your champion team or something?”

He smirked at ‘or something,’ as if entertained by your complete lack of interest in the most popular Galarian sport.

“That was the plan, but you said you wanted some adventure! Can’t get around many places here without a Pokemon. Being a trainer lets you travel a lot here in Galar. Maybe you’ll get to compete in the upcoming Gym Challenge if you’re up for it!” He grinned some more here. “Who knows, maybe you’ll end up facing me in the end. Wouldn’t that be an adventure?”

You laughed a bit, shaking your head but trying to show an appreciative face. “Me? Be a trainer? And a good enough one to face you?? You’re funny.”

Hop has already regaled the crowd at dinner about how excited he is for camping in the Wild Area, hiking through ruins and snow, getting lost in haunted forests. You’ve never been one for the outdoors, and don’t think moving regions would change that.

“That’s kind of you, and he is cute. But that wasn’t the kind of adventure I was thinking of.” You smile at them both. “I appreciate you though!”

Leon seems a little confused at first, but recovers quickly and nods. Eventually the kids come over still hollering over Pokemon, and Hop quickly begins to monologue about his favorite topic: Leon, his brother. Hop drags you inside once he realizes how little you know about Galar’s Gym Challenge, Gloria and Leon trailing behind, with the former happy to be spared from the lecture about the Champion for once. You all found yourselves in Leon’s room, Hop showing you different magazines and eagerly pointing at different pictures of his brother’s most memorable fights. The trophies throughout the house and the weights in his room really do scream Champion. Is there ever a moment when he's not? Eventually Hop decides that Gloria and himself need to look up more information on their new Pokemon, and pulls her away into his room, leaving you and Leon alone.

The Champion, who really just seems like a man rather than a god to you, sheepishly rubs the back of his head and shrugs.

“Sorry about that, once Hop gets going, it’s hard to make him stop.”

He begins to collect all the magazines his brother pulled out and carefully places them back where they belong. It just hits you now how carefully organized everything is, and how little escapes his attention. You notice all the hats neatly arranged around his room, walking up towards the rows of shelves and scanning all the different kinds he owns.

“I like your collection.” You mean that, you’ve always enjoyed window shopping at boutiques and spotting people who took fashion seriously. “If I didn’t just hear everything your brother told me, I’d think you were the Champion of Streetwear.”

His chuckle comes from right behind you, startling you a bit. Turning around, you meet his intense and mischievous gaze.

“Adventure, huh?”

He steps a foot towards you, and you instinctually press back against the dresser behind you. Leon closes the distance between you and meets your lips with his, only making your heart race faster. What is happening?? You melt into the kiss, I mean, this is the Champion we’re talking about here, and go along with his lead. He doesn’t draw it out or take it too far; it wasn’t a sweet kiss but one of intrigue.

Parting just moments away from your lips, he breathes out a “You’re so different, too bad-”

“KIDS? Are you up there!? It’s getting late and time to go home!”

The moment is broken by a yell from your auntie, and the shuffling of feet all over the house makes Leon swiftly give you some space. You’re still a bit flustered, and confused honestly, but you know to shyly smile in these situations.

“Pity we won’t be seeing much of each other, now that challenge season is on.” He takes your hand and guides you off his dresser and towards the threshold of his room. “But I hope you find that thing you’re looking for.”

He winks as Gloria pops her head in and calls for you, and watches her take your hand to pull you away. You wave to Leon, not really knowing what to say.

Outside it is dark, the faintest hints of dusk dropping further behind the hills. Butterfree flutter from tree to tree, and your aunt’s Budew are nestled in the front yard. All you can hear are Gloria's footfalls up towards her house and the thumping of your heart against your chest. Your cousin is quite tuckered out from all the excitement, and you only stay up a little with your auntie with the family’s Munchlax resting in your lap. She asks the usual ‘how are you adjusting’s and ‘do you think you’ll enjoy it here’s, and you begin to think you made a mistake turning down Leon’s offer. Eventually you take Munchlax over to the guest bedroom and nestle into bed, hoping to understand what you’re supposed to do in this new land.

~*~*~*~

The sounds of yelling and Pokemon cries jolts you from your sleep. It takes you a couple moments to realize an organized battle is going on, rather than some emergency.

“How do people get used to battling happening all the time?”

Yawning, you pawed the blankets of the bed until you found the lump that was Munchlax.

“Rise and shine, if I have to wake up, so do you~” Groans of protest shuffled under the covers, only twisting more into a warm cocoon. “Well, don’t blame me if auntie doesn’t prepare you breakfast.”

You hear frantic scrambling as you leave bed and head towards the kitchen, where your aunt is already drinking tea and checking her phone. You exchange usual pleasantries, making toast for yourself and ducking out to take a shower as soon as you could find a way to excuse yourself.

Eventually you find yourself wandering out of the house and into the late-morning air, smelling greenery and hay as usual. You notice a Wooloo hitting itself into a nearby gate, and shrug it off. 

Walking down the main path, you see Hop containing a tantrum within himself as he stands over his fainted Scorbunny. It looks like Leon is giving Gloria and Hop a speech of sorts, something about being rivals, and you’re able to pass by with a wave. Leon nods at you with a cordial smile, not at all seeming like a man who kissed you the night before. It seems like in public, he always needs to be the Champion. 

Unsure of how you feel about that, you decide to pick a new resting spot, down closer to Route 1.

[sofficsss]

THE TIME HAS COME

Bunch of ocs today

I am still missing a central point in the story sigh... plus some other important stuff... I love to work on Drop, I have so much already pretty clear, but uhhh sometimes I feel that when the story will be more solid, with good planning, it will be... gone? Is a strange feeling.

Right now I feel like writing a bit about them tho. ⬇️

I change Dorotea design every minute of my life, she is the woman with dark hair in the corner. She works in the fields as almost everyone around the lake, and has a little library, filled by books she can find in abandoned houses. Books are very expensive, and impossible to re- print since it is a process that requires too much resources. Nobody cares too much about reading anyway. But she collects books to loan to her small clientele no matter what.

Dorotea has shiny, deep eyes that can see beyond and a caring touch. She also has a secret: she was born owning the Feel. The people hanging out at her library knows that, most of them, and support her true job: being a healer and a psychic. (More for another day, I have SO MUCH stuff on this and her relationship with Milo) But she is quite the lonely soul despite her loving nature, being her niece her only comfort and connection to the rest of the family, Julius!

Which is the guy looking up in the first image, with dark brown hairs and a bunch of necklaces. He will met Milo at the beginning of the story and will become a dear friend of him. Julius is a loud, joyful and cunning individual. Born in the largest family of the Lake, he worked hard since he was a child, never to be sheltered by the elders. Being a quiet kid, he developed his flamboyant personality to survive in a huge family like his. Now, don't get him wrong, he loves his family deeply and is ready to do anything for them any time he is needed. He travels a lot for his work and know how to navigate the world they live in. He understands how to keep his feet on the ground, and practical would be another word to describe him. He surely isn't neither naive, nor clumsy nor childlike like Milo.

Milo. The protected, gifted kid. Coming from a very strict, very different environment, different from all of the people he will meet. With the crystal on the forehead as a watershed, a constant reminder of his upbringing. It was taken away from him by his older brothers for... reasons.

I always presented Milo as a shy, smart head-on-the-clouds type of guy, which is true, but he also got quite the attitude, often, and especially when pushed in a corner. Sometimes he can be a real jerk, saying very mean things... like a child. In a way, he never got to grew up. Often when expressing a thought or demanding something he starts to stutter and talk faster, going red around the ears.

Math and physics are dear to him. Always have been. He feels he can truly grasp the world around him and the people with them, and he think it is the only correct way he has to express himself. He can't even imagine a life without his numbers, or with his brothers missing in the picture, he think he would be nothing, at all. This mix of introversion, lack of empathy and overall submissive temper makes him a difficult person to be with sometimes. Julius is no quitter thankfully.

-----------------‐‐--------------

... shit now I want to write more and more and more, the comic be damned, anyway who knows if I will be capable or in the right situation to make a commitment like that. This year is a tough one, I will graduate, I hopefully will move in a very distant city, I have to find a job again... now without the warm of being secured behind my studies. I am resolute in the comic, just... you know, life is unpredictable. And I can't spoil the story too much! No! I probably will anyway! Who knows!

Oh! And yesterday and today I stayed drawing all day long, I did so much 🤯 going to show you next few days.

(Expect some LoZ)

This was a frenzy to write in English, the syntax probably isn't the best.